Tauranga City residents will get their say in the final makeup of the Phoenix carpark with council agreeing to move forward with plans to redevelop the site into an urban space.
Tauranga City Council today decided to transfer ownership of the front part of the carpark site from the Transportation department into the Open Space budget.
The Phoenix carpark will be redeveloped into an urban space.
It will be paid for through development contributions collected for the future provision of urban spaces in Mount Maunganui.
Public consultation and feedback will now be sought on the design options for the front urban space.
Council will also begin development of a long term carparking plan to run parallel with the design process for the urban space. This will aim to retain a minimum of 55 carparks from the front part of the site, within reasonable vicinity.
Councillors Catherine Stewart, Rick Curach and Steve Morris are wary of council's inability to find room for the 55 carparks to be removed through the development.
Catherine says parking space concerns are evident in the public submissions and she is pleased the public will have input in the final design of the area.
"The key concern was the car parking and the loss of it," says Catherine.
Between February and April 2014 more than 180 people provided feedback on the proposal - the majority favouring the retention of the carpark.
There was also a large amount of support for development of an urban space.
Councillor Clayton Mitchell endorses the move in what he says is a great use of development contributions, likening it to the Pilot Bay boardwalk and its opposition.
"I'm excited to get this ball on the roll and I'm sure there will be some public fall-outs, but we can create something great," says Clayton.
Councillor Kelvin Clout believes this is the next "logical step" in moving the project forward after having it on council's radar since the new council was elected last year.
"I think this will end up being a very attractive amenity on the basis that we can manage some of these parking issues.
"I think this will be a really good thing going forward."
8 comments
Proposed Car Park Re-location?
Posted on 04-06-2014 15:41 | By Mary Faith
I hope the rumours that the car park is to be relocated to Coronation Park (already ruined) have no foundation! The 'Phoenix'is not just a car-park but a central meeting place for everyone - on many occasions - eg The weekly Farmers Market, and other festivities including the Buskers weekends and Christmas Parade etc. The public will not walk far and the Mount retailers will lose custom to Bayfair!
Not Another Strand White Elephant I Hope
Posted on 04-06-2014 16:06 | By tabatha
We were told all this when the Strand Reclamation was mooted to be an urban space, I would challenge people to look and see how often the space is used to a maximum, not often from what I see. When it was a carpark and and event took place no one really grizzled because they knew it would be a carpark again, now it often a space without use. yes we need said type areas but not a space that is under used. Coronation Park is not used a lot and now Phoenix heading same way. Save some money for a rainy day, I sure people nearby would like that.
deaf ears
Posted on 04-06-2014 18:01 | By ratepayer
leave the area alone,concentrate on debt reduction stop all unnecessary spending
watch this space
Posted on 04-06-2014 18:08 | By Capt_Kaveman
watch out these new Councillors still want to spend money Tauranga does not have
bogside
Posted on 04-06-2014 22:04 | By bogside
I amazed that local people do not see the potential value of this site. This is prime downtown real estate that needs to be developed into a revenue earning site that will ultimately offset our rates bill. People please get real - this is the 21st century and there are going to be a lot more tourists coming through this place in the future that will make innovative development of this space viable and of value to us all. To utilise this space for anything other than commercial revenue earning development is a loss of real opportunity. I am disappointed that the people I voted for on the current council lack sufficient vision.
I'm off to Bayfair
Posted on 04-06-2014 23:07 | By The Caveman
So all the central mount shopping car parks are about to go - I'm off to Bayfair - I trust the shop landlords/owners in the central mount are happy. It will soon be like the Tauranga CDB - empty shops and dead.
Integrity
Posted on 05-06-2014 19:47 | By Accountable
What is the point of having public surveys and submissions on the subject if they are not going to abide by the requests of the majority? Where is the democracy within Councils decision making process? As tabatha has said just take a look at the CBD Waterfront parking removal and the results now. Its an expensive waste land. Please Councillors look at the long term damage you will do to businesses in the Mount shopping area because of a couple of Council staff members recommendations.
What next
Posted on 08-06-2014 08:16 | By Patsy
One would have thought a lesson would have been learnt by what has happen in Tauranga CBD. Even on a Tuesday night no parking in Tauranga available. What they did on the Strand is a waste of space and the same will happen if the parking disappears in the Main Street of the Mt. I would gladly shop downtown and in Tauranga but no central parking.Of course things die down in the winter and the main car park may be only half full but base the figures on the other 9 months of the year. Cut the parking and you will get less.
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to make a comment.